National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB.AU) said Wednesday full year net profit fell 43% on year, as rising bad debts, tax charges and other one-time items offset higher revenues. In a statement, the Melbourne-based bank said net profit for the year ended Sept. 30 fell to A.59 billion from A.54 billion a year earlier.

A key congresional committee begins its final round of debates over key legislation that imposes new regulations on credit rating agencies, which have been taken to task over unrealistically rosy ratings on sub-prime-mortgage securities and other toxic assets.

Hong Kong’s leaders seem to be ignoring a lesson from the subprime-inspired financial crash, namely that central bankers must watch asset prices.